My reaper license was a totally different matter, I had expected Uncle Iggy to resist and was dumbfounded at his response. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if he’d been listening to me; he seemed enthralled by the idea of a son—real or imagined—to take over the business. When he finally calmed down, he stated that it was the best idea I’d ever had and questioned why it had taken me so long. I turned in my reaper license that same day; every member of the council argued with me, trying to make me see sense, eventually they gave up and accepted my resignation. There was one stipulation though, I was honor bound to reap any stray souls I came across. I may be off the rota, but I was still a reaper.
Noah, Hilda and Chloe had loaded their car and were ready for their trip home to Pumpkin Bay when we arrived; their parents had left earlier that morning. Skye joined them, she wanted to reconnect with her extended family and friends. Basil and I were there to say goodbye.
“Why don’t you and Annie join us? You could use a vacation after all you’ve been through.” Skye asked as she loaded her suitcase in the car.
I smiled thinking about what I would be doing in the next few weeks. “I’d love to, but there are a few things I have to take care of before I go off on vacation,” I glanced at Annie, picked up her suitcase and pushed her forward, “Annie wants to go though, she’s already packed.”
Skye laughed, stowed Annie’s bag in the trunk and hopped in her car. “Bring Basil with you. He’ll fit right in.”
“Count on it,” Basil said, as they drove off.
Basil and I arrived home just after noon to find a strange car parked in the driveway. Bertie must have arrived earlier than expected.
“I’ll make lunch. What do you want to eat?” Basil asked as he opened the front door.
“I’ll eat anything, I’m starving,” I responded and led the way into the kitchen.
Basil flew in behind me and stopped short when he saw Dante standing in front of the stove, making grilled cheese sandwiches. Bella had returned from her sojourn in Scotland and was floating nearby, laughing with Bertie.
“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. Hope you made enough for everyone.”
“More than enough and if remember correctly, Zan…” Basil’s eyes grew wide, and he glared at Dante. “Basil can eat his own weight in one sitting.” Dante flashed me a smile that left me breathless.
I broke our eye contact and glanced at Basil, "I’ve noticed. But he pays for the groceries, so it doesn’t matter.”
Basil attempted to sneak out of the kitchen, but stopped short when I grabbed his wing. “Where do you think you’re going? What does ‘Zan’ mean?”
“Yes, I’d like to know that as well,” Bertie said as he leaned against the counter.
“Means nothing,” Basil hastily interjected.
Dante laughed and pointed his spatula at Basil. “Yeah, right. We’ve run into each other a few times, the last time was a few years ago. He was helpful for a while, but then he started eating me out of house and home.”
“You would too, if you’d starved for six months. Besides, you owed me,” Basil replied flapping his wings.
Dante grinned, when he handed out the plates of sandwiches, we turned our attention to the food. It didn’t look like I'd get an answer anytime soon. Those two had a secret, and I was determined to find out what it was. It had to be something to do with that Zan thing. I wasn’t sure if Dante had been about to say. But why keep it a secret?
Acknowledgments
Thank you for taking the time to read my debut novel. If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review.
Special thanks go out to my editor Amanda West, and to Arlene Prunkl for her suggestions and words of encouragement.
Look out for One Grave Rock, Book 2 in the Zoey Graveley Mystery series!
Grave Alchemy Page 20